Childhood trauma, including abuse and neglect, is probably the single most important public health challenge in the United States, a challenge that has the potential to be largely resolved by appropnate prevention and intervention (van der Kolk, 2005). Trauma as a child can affect the child’s entire life unknowingly especially if they go untreated. However, this is often the case in today’s society. The results of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), 2* Field Trial suggested that trauma has its most pervasive impact during the first decade of life and becomes more circumscribed (i.e., more like "pure" PTSD) with age (van der Kolk, 2005). Most psychologists agree that the DSM criterion does not effectively describe the trauma and the effects on the developing child. One of the problems the DSM criteria faces is the fact that the complex reaction is based strictly on military soldiers. As a result, the reactions of those involved in combat were likely significantly different from those of immature individuals whose exposure to traumatic stress was ongoing and related to family life (Courtois, 2004). Another difficulty facing clinicians during the assessment process of the child victim is the child’s inability to properly express their emotions. This may be due to their age or it can be the impact of the trauma.…
